Norwich Union, announcing half-year results yesterday, said it was confident it had a future as an independent company despite recent speculation that a bid for the group is in the offing.

The insurer, which floated on the stock market in June, has been dogged by takeover rumours since its plans to list on the stock market were announced last year. Norwich's entry to the FTSE 100 list of Britain's top companies was confirmed later yesterday.

One predator repeatedly mentioned, building society-turned-bank Halifax, has made no bones about its wish to make acquisitions. But chief executive, Mr Allan Bridgewater said Norwich had received no takeover approaches. He also expressed confidence about the group's prospects for the remainder of the year.

His comments came as Norwich unveiled results for its last six months as a mutual. The company posted operating profits for the 24 weeks to June 15th of £288 million sterling and pre-tax profits of £335 million. No comparable figures were given, but the numbers were some 8 per cent ahead of the previous year on a pro rata basis. As indicated in the flotation prospectus, there was no interim dividend for the time prior to flotation.